Tennis-racket.



H. HOLDING TENNIS RACKET. APPLICATION mm FEB. 18. 191B.

Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

- being formed flat,

1 ing being long the catgut laces .newal, is a desideratum.

expense and idelay-,

'of the usual tennis .tively :short lengths, i aggregate cost, asicompar'ed with 1301161111668 HOLDING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TENNIS-RACKE'I.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

Application filed February 18, 1918. Serial No. 217,799.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY HOLDING, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tennis-Rackets, of which the following is a specification. 1

My improvements relate'to the hand bats or rackets used more particularly in the game of tennis, consisting of an elliptical or oval rim attached to a handle, the elastic resilient medium for contact with the ball of strands .of catgut strung upon and within the rim so as to afford a tautretieulated striking surface.

Ordinarily the catgut used for the con- .tactual net work within the rim has consisted of a-single lace of a length suificient to meet the requirements of the area inclosed by the rim. Hence, if one-ormore strands snapped under the stress of use the racket :had to be unstrung completely and re-strung :With a new catgut, resulting in considerable he operation of stringand tedious, and the cost of being proportionate to their In factthe re-stringing racket, done by professional stringers in the larger cities to whom the rackets have to be sent for repairs, involves a cost approximately one third the average original cost of an ordinary racket, not to mention the inconvenience and delay caused by reason of'transportation, etc., and 'as rackets in constant use may require relength and quality.

lacing several times in the course of a season, or at comparatively short intervals of time, it is obvious that asimpler .and cheaper method of construction, and :repair and re- It is the :main object .of my invention to obviate this diiiiculty, and to so simplify the method of applying the strands .of catgut .to the :rimthat broken 'strands'may be readily and immediately replaced .by any per- .son of ordinary skill, thus avoiding :delay and expense of transportation, the necessity an 'the employment of professional skilledlabor, and theinconve'ni'ence and loss :of time heretofore involved in there-stringof a racket. Furthermore, both the inicost, and thecost of'repair, is greatly reduced by the utilization of 'catgut of rela- :and hence of reduced catgut lace such as heretofore deemed indis-i Y pensable.

The invention consists in the specific constructlon and arrangement of parts described and claimed,distinctive features being the use of relatively short lengths of catgut to form the cross strands of the reticulated striking surface, and the means of securing said strands to the rim, all as hereinafter fully set forth.

In theaccompanying drawings,

F igure l, is a side elevation of the main portionof a tennis racket embodying the essential features of my invention, the rim being broken away in part to show the strand fastenings';

Fig. 2, is an edge elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, is a view'of a strand of .the lace;

Fig. 4, shows details views, taken at right angles to each other, of one form of strandsecuring device; Y

Fig. 5, shows slmilar views of another form of strand securer adapted to the purpose;

Fig. 6, is a cross section on a larger scale taken through the rim on plane of lined-6, Fig. 2;

Fig. 7, is'an equivalent section of the other side of the rim showing the end of the twin strands shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8, is a sectional elevation in detail, showing another modification in the means of securing the end of a strand in position in the rim.

R, represents the attached in the usual way to a handle R, which is shown as broken away in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

S, S, are the strands of .catgut or other suitable material which form the woven reticulated striking surface of the racket, it being understood that by the term catgut as herein used I. .mean to designate and include any suitableor practicable substitute for that material,the .word catgut being used in a 'figurative sense as well as representing'the material ordinarily used for the purpose.

The rim is 'formedwith the usual transverse perforations p, p, from periphery torim of atennis racket,

.ordinary way by a'singlelong lace if so deforming two adjoining strands of the reticulated contact surface, the ends of which twin strands are secured on one side of the rim;

- suitable contact for a while 8*, is an illustration of a length of cat gut forming four parallel and adjacent strands-of said reticulated contactual surface, the ends of which length of catgut s, are secured, one in the outer end of the rim as at a, and the other in a side portion 64, thereof, all as shown in Fig. 1. In the case of the lace 6*, the rear endis strung through a side perforation p, in and along a groove g, (Figs. 1 and 2) back through a perforation 12 to perforation p and groove 9 to the point a, above referred to.

In applying the strands one end of the length of catgut is knotted or otherwise enlarged to prevent its passage through the lateral perforations p, the other end is then threaded through the rim as required and then knotted or otherwise enlarged to afford fastening plug which is forced into the peripheral recess 7*, in the rim within which said end of the strand is positioned.

By way of illustration, take the twin strands s 8 shown in the enlarged views Figs. 6 and 7 the end 1, (not yet knotted) of the catgut lace s s is first passed through the lateral perforation p, at the bottom of the recess 7*, on the left side of the rim R, and the lace drawn through said perforation go", until the knot 2, rests against the bottom of the recess r, as shown in Fig. 6; then the free end 1, of the lace is passed through the perforation p, in the other or right side of the rim (forming the strand 3) through the groove 9, through the perf0- ration 73"", (forming the bight 4.) and back to the left side of the rim .where it is passed through the perforation 39", forming the strand 5). It is then formed with the knot 6, drawn taut, and bent in to the groove 9, to form the bight 7, the knot 6, being tucked into the recess 1", and secured therein by the insertion of the plug q, into the recess 1, thereby also firmly locking the bight 7, in position against the bottom of the groove 9. Thus secured, the bights 4 and 7 hold the strands 3 and 6 (s s taut and firm, so that the elasticity and resilience of the strands .will be fully utilized in play.

Where a single length of catgut is used for each strand, as in the case of the strands s, s, the knot at each end thereof is secured metallic alloy,

.to the purpose. Thus in within a recess 7', in like manner by a plug 5 fitting therein, as shown in Fig. 1, which also shows the securing of the ends of the four strand lace s, in like manner.

The plugs 9, may be of any desired form and construction adapted to perform the function of locking devices for the ends of the catgut strands or laces, so that I do not limit myself in this respect, those shown in Fig. 4, being in the form of headed wedges, while those shown in Fig. 5, are in the form of staples. These plugs g, fit snugly within the recess 1', but may be quickly and conveniently removed therefrom by a point inserted (say) through the adjacent groove g, and under the head or outer end of the plug 9. Thus a broken strand, or strands may be removed and replaced without disturbing those still intact, and the operation and manipulation is so simple as to be readily performed by a person of ordinary care and intelligence, and

without the employment of a professional stringer.

Furthermore the cost not only of original production, but also of subsequent replacement of broken strands is materially reduced because of the shortness of the lengths of catgut used and their relative cheapness.

Another advantage of my structure is that the reticulated contactual surface as a whole is quicker than when composed of a single lace of catgut as heretofore. In other words its resilience is increased, and the reaction against the ball is more immediate and effective.

I prefer to form the recesses r, 1', alternately in position as related to the edges of the outer or peripheral face of the rim R, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to balance the rim as regards strength and lightness; and in this connection it must be taken into consideration that the material of the rim'removed in forming the recesses 1", and perforation connecting grooves g, g, more than compensates for the weight of the securing plugs g, which are of light, open,structure and may be made of relatively light material, either metallicor non-metallic. Thus they may be made of aluminum, or a light or of wood, celluloid, or' any other suitable substance as may be found most expedient. i

lVhen headed, as in Fig. 4, or in the form of staples, as in Fig. 5, 1t is obvious that the outer extremities of the plugs q, are adapted tofacilitate their being readily pried out of the recesses "r, by a suitablepointed instrument; and such heads or outer extremities of said plugs mayof course be variously shaped to attain this end. 1

It is to be understood that by the term plug as herein used I mean to designate any form of driven securing device adapted Fig. 8, I show a brad or wedge g, driven into one of the lateral perforations p, and a serrated lateral arm which clamps down the bight 8, of the strand S, into the groove g,-the recess 1-, being dispensed with in this case.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In a racket of the character designated, an elastic resilient reticulated contactual medium consisting of cross strands comprising a plurality of laces independently secured to the rim, and wedge plugs formed with lateral projections adapted to clamp the end of a strand within the rim for the purpose described.

2. In a racket of the character designated, an elastic resilient contactual medium consisting of a series of cross strands each se- Gopiea of this patent may be obtained for shoulders in said recesses, for the purpose 3 described.

HENRY HOLDING.

Witnesses:

GEO. WM. MIA'r'r, DOROTHY MIATT.

five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of intents,

Washington, D. 0. 

